This is the description of the P3.express Practitioner (P3P) certification program, which is the only exam-based P3.express recognition program.
You can obtain an exam voucher from the accredited trainers, accredited training organizations, or the examination institute; e.g.,
What does it mean to be a P3P?
P3P is a global certification program that defines the minimum level of expertise required for managing real-world projects using P3.express.
Certified candidates are expected to be able to manage projects or contribute to their management in an effective and structured way using P3.express.
How to become certified
Candidates can become certified by
- accepting the code of conduct, and
- passing the P3P exam.
Post-nominal title
When you hold a P3P certificate, you can prefix your name with “P3P”; for example, “John Doe, P3P”. This post-nominal title can be combined with others, in any order the practitioner sees fit; e.g., “John Doe, ABC, P3P, DEF”.
Certificate validity
Certificates are valid for life but are attributed to the year they were issued, for example, “P3P-2022”. The level of confidence in the certificate may decrease as time passes since the evaluation; for example, a potential employer may be confident about a P3P-2022 certificate in 2023 but may not be so confident in 2025.
In February of each year, practitioners holding the previous certificate will be invited to take the new exam free of charge. By passing the exam, they will receive the new certificate and qualify for the subsequent free annual exam.
Serious violations of the code of conduct may result in cancellation of the certificate(s).
Exam vouchers
Candidates can buy the exam vouchers from Accredited P3.express Trainers, Accredited P3.express Education Partners, or the examination institute.
Exam voucher price
The NPV (Net Present Value) of the English version of the exam will remain fixed. As such, its base price in euros will be adjusted for inflation based on the indices published by the European Commission for the Eurozone. The adjusted price will be announced at the end of February each year and will take effect one month later.
The price of each language other than English is set based on the approximate relative purchasing power of people who speak that language in different locations compared to that of English (with a cap). After the price of the English exam has been adjusted, the other prices will be recalculated based on that.
Format of the exam
The P3.express Practitioner exam is an open-book format with 70 questions in 100 minutes.
The exam is currently available in English, Spanish, Persian, Russian, Arabic, French, and Polish, and more languages will be added soon. There’s a language aid feature in the exam that provides an automated translation of the question into any target language for an approximate help.
Candidates must score 67% or higher to pass the exam.
Format of the questions
Each question is either
- multiple-choice, with 2 or more choices, where only one choice should be selected, or
- multiple-answer, with 3 or more choices, where more than one choice should be selected.
When more than one choice is to be selected, it’s always mentioned in the question. Some questions tell you the exact number of choices you should select, and some only give you a hint that you should select more than one choice.
Each question is of one of the following types:
- Scenario-based: About 80% of the questions are based on a short scenario embedded in the question.
- Direct: About 20% of the questions are direct, without a scenario.
Questions are designed to challenge different levels of cognition:
- Cognitive level 1 (15% of questions): recalling
- Cognitive level 2 (55% of questions): recalling + basic analysis
- Cognitive level 3 (30% of questions): recalling + advanced analysis and deduction
There’s no penalty for wrong answers, and all questions have the same weight (1 point).
Syllabus
Questions cover the following topics:
| Group | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NUPP | 4 |
| 1 | Context | 3 |
| 1 | License and rights | 2 |
| 2 | Project manager | 4 |
| 2 | Sponsor | 4 |
| 2 | Peer reviewer | 3 |
| 2 | Custodian | 2 |
| 2 | Team leader | 1 |
| 3 | Initiations | 13 |
| 3 | Daily and Weekly Management | 8 |
| 3 | Closures | 4 |
| 3 | Post-Project Management | 4 |
| 4 | Deliverables Map | 2 |
| 4 | Project Description | 4 |
| 4 | Follow-Up Register | 6 |
| 4 | Health Register | 1 |
| 5 | Tailoring | 3 |
| 5 | Delivery method | 2 |
Exam sources
The following are the sources of information used in the exam questions:
- The P3.express manual
- The NUPP manual
- The P3.express Practitioner Code of Conduct
- The summary of the Creative Commons Attribution license
Some questions refer to specific techniques or models that do not appear in any of the resources listed above. These techniques or models are mentioned to provide context for the questions, and candidates do not need to know them to answer the questions correctly.
The Standard Slide Deck is a good representation of how the information in the above resources can be studied for the exam. Note: The Standard Slide Deck is not an additional source of information for the exam but only a representation of the main sources.
Practice exams
After redeeming a voucher, you’ll have access to a set of practice exams to familiarize yourself with the style of questions and the exam platform.